Tips

The Complete Guide to Scout’s tips and advice for FPL Gameweek 2

Welcome to the Fantasy Football Scout Guide to Gameweek 2, don’t forget the new normal deadline of 11:00 BST – half an hour earlier than last season.

Captain set? Transfers made?

Before delving into the nitty-gritty of the best advice for the next round of matches, we received a welcome reminder this week on how to enjoy FPL.

If you find yourself clicking a little too often on transfers page, Community Member and Mindfulness trainer DomWatts23 explained why:

We get a dopamine hit released in our brain every time we look at our team and remember that we might be rewarded in the future for those players doing well this weekend.

– Dom Watts

Which is of course exactly what we want but, realistically, doesn’t always happen.

Dom’s thoughtful article is full of tips that help put FPL in perspective, and could possibly improve your decision-making process. 

And remember, even the best can have a bad Gameweek, as three-time top-200 finisher Lateriser proved with a below-average 43 points. Well, he wouldn’t be called ‘Late Riser’ if he didn’t start slowly. Reflecting on his pre-season decisions, the Pro Pundit considered:

Being stubborn will not make you a good FPL player. You have to respond to what you see on that television screen.

– Lateriser

It’s an exciting Gameweek with both Manchester clubs returning to action following their opening blank, and let’s not forget Aston Villa and Burnley too. Man United-fan Lateriser is sensing an opportunity to give Anthony Martial (£9.0m) the armband.

Although writing in Captain Sensible, Jan Sienkiewicz identified a weakness on Crystal Palace’s right flank that could be exploited by Marcus Rashford (£9.5m).

Encouragingly for Man United backers, the latest clean sheets odds provided by G-Whizz reveal that the Eagles are the team most likely to concede in Gameweek 2.

However, double-points king Jan notes that the safe captain pick is the popular Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£12.0m):

We can trust Aubameyang, who has been in fantastic goalscoring form over recent months and does have the underlying statistics, as well as penalties, to back it up.

– Jan

Arsenal entertain West Ham this weekend and, reflecting on the Hammers’ home defeat to Newcastle, David struck an ominous tone in the Best Captain video:

It’s quite rare to see a team get – I don’t want to say played off the park – but Newcastle were in full control of that game and I can’t remember the last time I really saw Newcastle be in control of a game and be on the front foot.

– David

One person who no doubt enjoyed that win was Neale. This week, our resident Geordie cast his eye over the statistics from Gameweek 1 in his latest Big Numbers offering. Among the many pearls highlighted was the frailty of the newly-promoted defences:

2.83 expected goals conceded (xGC) by West Bromwich Albion in Gameweek 1, the worst total in the division. In fact, the three newly promoted clubs had the worst xGC tallies in the first round of 2020/21 matches, with Leeds United (2.76) and Fulham (1.97) not far behind.

– Neale

That could be good news for owners of Everton players, with the Baggies visiting Goodison Park in the early kickoff.

The Toffees topped Pro Pundit Andy’s Gameweek 1 take-aways: underestimated following a series of sub-par performances during Project Restart, Andy noted how the arrival of midfield trio Allan (£5.5m), Abdoulaye Doucouré (£5.5m) and James Rodríguez (£7.5m) transformed their attack. 

Calvert-Lewin will get the plaudits for the goal (and what a header it was), but Richarlison (£8.0m) was brilliant. He managed seven shots, with five of them in the box and his non-penalty expected goals (nPxG) was 0.74, not a bad start. He’ll be a hard sell because of the extra £1m he costs over Calvert-Lewin, but he could be a shrewd pick for the next three fixtures.

– Andy on Everton

Although investing heavily in Carlo Ancelotti’s troops might be tricky without a Wildcard, especially with the Manchester clubs back on the menu. Pro Pundit Zophar weighed up the Pros and Cons of making wholesale changes to your squad this early in the season. 

Depending on the make-up of your team, you may want to act fast to take advantage of low-owned players from Manchester City as well capitalising on the appealing fixtures for Everton and Manchester United. Although, typically cautious in nature, Zophar ultimately prefers to wait until he has a little more data to go on and the transfer window is closed.

However, rumour has it that his fellow member of the FPL Wire, BigManBakar, has pushed the button ahead of Gameweek 2. Does this mean he’s sold Salah? His latest Gameweek review suggests he might have:

I would be more tempted to sell Salah however, if I was on a wildcard because that would have meant that I could have upgraded elsewhere easily. And I think that might be a smart strategy, because this is where the concept of VORP (value over replacement player) comes into play and if you are unlikely to captain Salah in the next four (che ARS avl eve) that ploy might be fruitful.

– BigManBakar

If you are looking for further encouragement to play the early Wildcard, Pro Pundit Tom Freeman was on hand with a selection of enticing differentials. Raheem Sterling led the way with nine goals during Project Restart:

Five of his nine double-digit hauls arrived following the resumption, which ensured he outscored teammate Kevin De Bruyne (£11.5m) by 86 FPL points to 73.

– Tom on Raheem Sterling

And a trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers is not necessarily such a bad fixture for the Englishman, argues Tom:

Sterling also thrived on his travels – 70% of his league goals arrived during away games, while his 26 big chances in such matches was comfortably more than any other player.

– Tom on Raheem Sterling

The Aston Villa fan also ran the rule over the Villans’ new striker Ollie Watkins (£6.0m):

Amazingly, every single one of [his] 26 goals came from open play and, when you exclude penalties, Watkins scored more league goals than any other player in English football last season.

– Tom on Ollie Watkins

A partnership with Jack Grealish could bear fruit, and Tom suggests the time to invest might be Gameweek 6 when the fixture ticker turns blue for Dean Smith’s men.

This week’s Scoutcast featured former FPL winner and Pro Pundit Simon March. Despite concerns about their defence, one player who caught the eye of the Chelsea fan was Reece James (£5.0):

We saw the goal last night, I watched that back without the crowd noise and just the sound it makes when it leaves his boot – it was like a sonic boom! Just an absolute pile driver of a shot.

– Simon on Reece James

With new signings like Timo Werner (£9.5m) and Kai Havertz (£8.5m) to get on the end of his deliveries, Simon feels that £5.0m could be a steal. And, excluding his goal, Neale pointed out that the 20-year-old could benefit from the bonus points system:

20 baseline bonus points (BBPS) registered by Reece James on Monday night, the joint-highest total in Gameweek 1. Baseline BPS is simply a player’s BPS score with all the appearances, goals, assists and clean sheets stripped away.

– Neale on Reece James

Another defender who posed a goal-threat on the opening weekend was Matt Doherty (£6.0m). Spurs were rightly criticised for their defeat to Everton but the former Wolves player made a couple of encouraging “underlapping” runs into the box: the best resulting in a glorious chance from six yards out that Jordan Pickford (£5.0m) blocked with his legs.

Final Checks

Before making any final decisions ahead of Gameweek 2 be sure to check up on the latest team news and the predicted line-ups.

Pep Guardiola has revealed that Sergio Aguero and Aymeric Laporte will miss out this weekend:

Meanwhile Frank Lampard has confirmed that Timo Werner is fit to face the reigning Champions.

Community Competitions

The Head-to-Head leagues are back! The Gameweek 1 results and tables are currently showing on the main Head-to-Head page.

The fixtures for Gameweek 2 are below:

This is your last opportunity to join The Great and The Good mini-league, the entry code is jxisbl.

And Greyhead is also recruiting for a Community Team to take on the established glitterati. Put your name forward in this Hot Topic if you are interested in taking part.

For an update on all featured FFS Mini-Leagues and Community Competitions, please click here to read the latest round-up.

Finally, Pro Pundit Sam brought us the latest on the Scout Network, a new initiative this season, highlighting both new and established voices in the FPL Community.

Enjoy Gameweek 2 and may your arrows be green!

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TopMarx Fan of Fantasy Football and Monty Python. "Archimedes out to Socrates, Socrates back to Archimedes, Archimedes out to Heraclitus, he beats Hegel. Heraclitus a little flick, here he comes on the far post, Socrates is there, Socrates heads it in! Socrates has scored! The Greeks are going mad, the Greeks are going mad! Socrates scores, got a beautiful cross from Archimedes. The Germans are disputing it. Hegel is arguing that the reality is merely an a priori adjunct of non-naturalistic ethics, Kant via the categorical imperative is holding that ontologically it exists only in the imagination, and Marx is claiming it was offside. Follow them on Twitter

2,956 Comments Post a Comment
  1. The Polymath
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    PENS DOWN!

    That's all of you!

    1. FPL Daniel
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Now let's make that bus team asap. I so enjoy in setting up my bus team

      1. Fitzy.
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 12 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        It really is exhilarating isn't it?

    2. Gregor
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      It’s still not updating for me!

      1. The Polymath
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 8 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Refresh

        1. Gregor
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • Has Moderation Rights
          • 14 Years
          3 years, 6 months ago

          I have.

  2. Firminooooo
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Predicted points for Havertz and HotRod.

    1. Right In The Stanchion
      • 4 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      2 and 15

      1. FPL Daniel
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Havertz is becoming a flop unless Lampard doesn't give him a chance to go more central and even Werner to go little bit on the left from time to time which is his best position anyway and Kai to deliver the goals

    2. Iceball
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      2 and 5

  3. Iceball
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    All right. Played Saiss instead of KWP. Go Wolves!

  4. gunner79
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Great nice one Abu

  5. Joyce1998
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    right guys if on wc these are my final changes

    pick two

    A- sterling
    B- KDB
    C- ctaylor
    D- lamptey

  6. linkafu
    • 4 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Good luck

  7. Jafooli
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Updated?

    1. Rolls-Royce
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Just activated my WC.

      1. FPL Daniel
        • 14 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Making transfers already myself 😉

      2. Abaddon
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        Really? Not updated for me yet. Lets hope that is not a wc for ge 2

  8. The Train Driver
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Wasn't the deadline supposed to be 1.5h before match start?

    1. The Polymath
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Rules changed start of the season mate.

    2. The Polymath
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Match starts at 12,30

  9. DeadStarComing
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    FPL forgot about deadline? I'm still able to do transfers...

    1. Jack Burton
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 8 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      me too

    2. Abaddon
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Same here

  10. ⭐ Bemba_Da ⭐
    • 13 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    deadline cancelled

    1. g40steve
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Crazy!!!

  11. It’s gonna Ben Mee
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Still working for me? Not updating?

    1. Gregor
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • Has Moderation Rights
      • 14 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Same here.

      1. the dom 1
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        same here

    2. Jam0sh
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Same 😀

  12. Siva Mohan
    • 11 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    GW2 still open..

  13. Brosstan
    • 9 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Auba -> kdb done 😉

    1. Pedersen
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Gw still open, so having KdB c this week... Well good luck

  14. C'mon the Fylde
    • 8 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Captain pick:

    A) Martial
    B) Aubameyang

  15. L'Aeroplanino
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    LOL

  16. gooberman
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Why can I still make transfers after 11?

  17. Gobigorgohome
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    WOW NO DEADLINE????

  18. R.C
    • 6 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Deadline changed?

  19. Totalfootball
    • 7 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Deadline passed but still able to access ?

  20. Gobigorgohome
    • 12 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    FPL TOWER SLEEPING LOL

  21. It’s gonna Ben Mee
    • 10 Years
    3 years, 6 months ago

    Just received the “2 hours until deadline” notification. Seems liked they fecked up big time.

  22. Vlekz
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Should I start siass or bissouma?

    • Totalfootball
      • 7 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      I think fpl tower have themselves forgotten the deadine ?!

    • Zimo
      • 5 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Fpl forgot their own new rule? 😆

    • R.C
      • 6 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      FPL Rockstar back in business baby!

      1. Reddonkeyham 42
        • 10 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        ?

    • Siva Mohan
      • 11 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      deadline removed? FPL towers having fun

    • Buck The Trent
      • 12 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      Davies to Keane worth -4?

    • Brosstan
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      I said PENS DOWN. Detention to anyone who made transfers after 11.00

      1. Mambino
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 10 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        I haven't yet but I often do. Can't help it, I'm too impatient. Sold Salah for Bruno straight after GW started last week and before a ball was kicked

    • the dom 1
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 9 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      awesome - lol

    • Rolls-Royce
      • 10 Years
      3 years, 6 months ago

      This is comical

      1. the dom 1
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 9 Years
        3 years, 6 months ago

        very 🙂